'Rathole,' tunnel or skyway? Council set to debate tricky west LRT options

City officials are finalizing plans for the west LRT line and struggling with how to avoid snarling traffic at 149 Street.

One option could make a new “rathole” — sending north-south traffic under an LRT track at grade.

Another fix — putting the track on stilts as it follows Stony Plain Road — could force officials to expropriate local businesses and create an unfriendly concrete monolith for an eight-block stretch of the commercial district.

After a full design review for the 14-km west leg of the Valley Line LRT, city officials are poised to send three options to council. The third and most expensive option is tunnelling along Stony Plain Road.

The option of sinking 149 Street rather than the track itself is new, introduced at an open house in November and still spreading through the neighbourhood.

“You mean like a rathole? A rathole would be bad,” said Michael MacFynn, marketing manager for nearby Revolution Cycle, remembering how 109 Street used to tunnel under CN rail yards north of 104 Avenue. It was notoriously ugly. MacFynn worries it would flood.

Cost estimates for each option are heading to council in February.

“I wouldn’t want to be making that decision, I tell you. It’s a tough one,” said Diane Kereluk, head of the local business association.

An elevated guideway with heavy concrete supports running from 146 to 154 streets would not be pedestrian friendly, Kereluk said. It could also require more land, destroying local shops and undermining years of work revitalizing the area.

An elevated guideway for the west leg of the Valley Line LRT could look similar to this, covering a span from 146 to 154 streets to avoid traffic at 149 Street along Stony Plain Road.Supplied /
City of Edmonton

Businesses are toying with yet another solution — leave the train at grade and simply make Stony Plain Road a one-way westbound street, she said.

Nearby 100 Avenue could handle eastbound traffic, leaving businesses intact and still delivering essential evening traffic to their doors. It could simplify the 149 Street crossing.

City officials call the new underpass option an urban-style interchange. It would include multiple traffic lanes, sidewalks, access ramps and retaining walls. Whether north-south traffic could access Stony Plain Road from the 149 Street underpass would depend on how much extra land council expropriates.

Tunnelling 10 times as expensive

City officials say tunnelling an LRT line is generally 10 times more expensive than building at grade, while elevating track is three times more expensive. Running 149 Street under the track would be between those two options, said city spokeswoman Alison Burns.

No one was available for an interview Tuesday — city officials answered questions by email.

Coun. Andrew Knack said the urban interchange might be the best solution. With low-floor LRT, street-level track fits best with new high-density, transit-oriented developments. There are great opportunities for that at 149 Street and Stony Plain Road, where RioCan owns the large Jasper Gates power centre.

In fact, the possibility for mixed-use redevelopment all along Stony Plain Road is a key reason why this alignment was picked over 87 Avenue, said Knack.

The original design for the 149 Street crossing, where the west LRT runs along Stony Plain Road. Alternatives go to council in February.City of Edmonton, supplied

The issue could be cost

The big issue will be cost because this isn’t the only potential snarl. Officials were already planning to elevate the west leg over 170 Street, with elevated stations at West Edmonton Mall and the Misericordia hospital.

Now they’re recommending council continue to elevate the track until after it crosses 178 Street.

They ruled against elevating the track at 142 Street. What to do with two other downtown intersections is still an open question. Officials will hold open houses on options for crossing 107 and 109 streets later this month.

“The biggest challenge could be at 104 Avenue and 109 Street,” said Knack. “It’s going to be the most costly to deal with, but I imagine there’s a really strong case for (grade separation).”

The west leg was estimated to cost $1.4 billion without this grade separation. City officials are also looking at alternatives like the trackless trains being tested in China. During the election, others pitched a better bus network with dedicated lanes to allow the same capital investment to serve more areas of the city quickly.

Map: Proposed upgrades along the west LRT line

What else is changing in the alignment

156 Street

City officials want to change the location of the 156 Street station to the west side of the street, just south of Stony Plain Road.

This would put it beside the bus station, leaving the parkade structure at the old MacEwan west campus intact. But it would force the train to take a sharp 90-degree turn at Stony Plain Road and 156 Street, which would increase noise and prevent some turning movements in the intersection.

178 Street

City officials are recommending council extend the elevated portion of the track to keep it above 178 Street.

That means a train heading west would leave an elevated station at West Edmonton Mall, cross over to run on the south side of 87 Avenue, then remain elevated to cross 178 Street.

The train would come down just east of the 182 Street stop.

142 Street

City officials are recommending council leave the track at grade at 142 Street.

City spokeswoman Alison Burns said that’s because a good solution at 149 Street will alleviate some congestion, making the western route a more appealing option for commuter traffic.

As well, the city has a bylaw on the books to keep the LRT at grade through that intersection to better tie in with development underway on the northeast corner.

Lewis Farms station

City officials are proposing a redesign at the terminus to increase the size of the park and ride, moving the LRT car storage area further from the station.

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